​Dwight Roth paints a haunting word picture that challenges us to think about who we are and how we show compassion in his poem, The Point of No Return, about a man with dementia wandering at Wal-Mart.

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He was wandering across the checkout lanes At the local Super Wal-Mart With a look of concern on his face As he looked across the carts He was unaware of his condition. His pants were soaked and soiled His only concern was to find his wife… And surely she would come through soon As I watched him move from lane to lane My heart went out to this man Who seemed not to know the state he was in But had only one plan I asked him if I could be of help He said he didn’t think so She would be coming through very soon. And he wandered on down the row I went to find a manager Who could help him find his wife But when we returned he had vanished He was nowhere in sight.

I still think about the old man not much older than myself And wonder if he found her And what it must be like Not to know who you are I cried many tears as I recalled The empty look, the lack of concern Unaware of the condition he was in And for the mind that had grown dim I wonder if I too will reach That point of no return The place where my only concern will be Just to find the one I love.

​Dwight Rothwas brought up in a Mennonite preacher’s family in Masontown, Pennsylvania. During the past forty-five years, he has been a Mennonite church planter in Rocky Mount, NC, a pastor, schoolteacher, and Assembly of God elder. Presently he is retired and attends an independent church planting in Waxhaw, NC called Fellowship Church.​

​The season of Advent is about the hope of waiting. When you're the caregiver to a child with a disability, your life is all about waiting. Waiting for the next doctor's appointment, physical therapy session, counseling session . . .